


Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out

by Dorksidefiker



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2018-12-26 23:31:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12069198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dorksidefiker/pseuds/Dorksidefiker
Summary: The Autobots aren't the only Cybertronians Unit E is working with.  Of course, not everyone is as eager to keep fighting the same battles over and over again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ever have one of those absolutely silly ideas that just will not leave you alone?
> 
> This is one of those ideas for me.

General Bryce liked to think he was only slightly surprised to find Agent Faireborn waiting in his office when he came back from lunch. Faireborn had the kind of forceful personality and mild disregard for the rules that frequently got her into places she shouldn't be. Anywhere but Unit E, she'd have been drummed out of the service years ago. As it was, Bryce preferred to keep her occupied with projects that kept her well out of the way.

Faireborn's salute was letter perfect, but the way her lips were pursed raised worries.

"At ease, Agent."

Stand on formality, or go for familiarity? Which one would get this over with fastest?

Bryce opted for familiarity, waving Faireborn to a chair. "You're looking well, Marissa. Island life agrees with you. Can I get you a drink?"

"Water, please." Faireborn folded herself gracefully into a chair, still watching Bryce with a look that gave him chills.

Bryce passed the agent a bottle of water from his mini fridge and took shelter behind his desk. Informal this may be, but he was still her commanding officer, and his desk reinforced that fact.

"What's on your mind?" Bryce asked, folding his hands and leaning forward just a little. Paternalistic, that was the ticket.

"You're sending Fowler's crew to the island."

"While we clean out the asbestos, yes." One of the dangers of converting Cold War era bases into habitations for alien machines was, without a doubt, out of date building materials. Bill had just about had a stroke when he'd realized what was lurking in the walls, and had insisted that it _all_ be removed. Bryce didn't think that the Autobots really _cared_ , but if the clean up gave his people a chance to snoop...

And then it all clicked. Of _course_.

"Does your charge... object to sharing space with our friends from Cybertron? It's only for a week-"

"I don't know. Why don't you _ask_ him?"

Bryce had actually been expecting something like this. of course, he'd been expecting a _phone call_ ; Faireborn rarely traveled further than the west coast, preferring to stay as close to her charge as possible. When Bryce had issued the order that morning to temporarily house the Autobots at the Bikini Atoll...

.... How had Agent Faireborn gotten to Nevada so fast?

Bryce cast a wary glance towards his office window, half expecting to see a large metallic face peering back at him. All he found was blue sky and well maintained grounds.

"Do _they_ know who's home you're sending them to?"

Bryce had almost forgotten how protective Faireborn was of her charge. He'd occasionally considered replacing her, but there were always reasons not to. There was no guarantee that their other Cybertronian guest would respond well to another handler. Nobody else was willing to spend their time on a lightly irradiated island with a giant robot and a dog.

"I'm sure between you and Bill, you can manage to keep the peace."

That did nothing to placate Agent Faireborn, judging by the look on her face.

"We don't exactly have a lot of places we can send them, Marissa. I know the situation is less than idea, but I was hoping your charge would be understanding."

Agent Faireborn delicately placed her unopened water on the desk before straightening her jacket. "Luckily, he is."

* * *

 

Ratchet wasn't sure when _evacuating the hanger for clean up_ had turned into a _family vacation_. He was fairly certain it was Miko's fault, the way these things often were. It had all happened while _he_ was making sure that their more sensitive equipment was packed up and ready to go with them. Ratchet wasn't particularly fond of the idea of leaving the new base to the humans while they removed the dangerous materials that had been built into the very walls, but when he was done packing, there wasn't much left that could be damaged.

Maybe if the children had been allowed in the base during the time, Ratchet might have been able to put a stop to the plotting. As it was, even the normally sensible Nurse Darby had been roped in to, as Rafael had explained it, "Be someone my parents can call so I can go."

And then Jack had started in on how his mother hadn't taken any time off in forever, and a week on an island would be just the thing for her-

Ratchet still wasn't sure how the children had been invited along in the first place. He'd raise a protest, insisting that they couldn't possibly disrupt their schooling, only to be informed that school was out for a regularly scheduled break until late August.

And Optimus, soft sparked old bot, had agreed to the mad venture.

So Ratchet grumbled and groused at anyone who ventured too near until Smokescreen not at all subtly that Ratchet needed the vacation more than anyone.

But finally, everything was ready. Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack remained behind to run the ground bridge and keep watch over what would not be coming with them; Ultra Magnus out of a well honed instinct for dealing with potentially hostile natives, and Wheeljack because he wasn't interested in delaying repairs to the Jackhammer over a bit of insulation.

It was far from ideal, but it would do.

Ratched would have preferred more details on where they were going, but it seemed even Fowler's information was sketchy at best. It was a Unit E base, there was an active Unit E group there, and it was on an island. General Bryce (who Ratchet would cheerfully dump in the middle of the Sea of Rust if he could) had chosen to share no other details.

The lack of information did nothing to ease Ratchet's nerves. He didn't much care for the idea of being on an _island_ either, but if need be, there was still the ground bridge.

The very same device swirled to life under Ultra Magnus's command, and the humans were ushered forward quickly so that they might minimize exposure to the asbestos that had been uncovered already. There was a lightness to the proceedings; even Optimus seemed caught up in the humans' excitement.

Ratchet's optics swept the base one last time before following his team.

The first thing that hit him was the difference in the air. Nevada was hot, but _this_ was both hot and _damp_. Ratchet made a note to insist on regular rust checks.

The second thing that hit him was that someone had set up an energon still against the wall, and as he watched, it slowly turned the relatively low grade energon found on the planet into something a good deal more intoxicating. There was certainly no mistaking the silvery blue eye grade slowly dripping into a Cybertronian sized beaker.

All about the hanger was evidence of Cybertronian influence, though the set up was nowhere near as complex as the one back at their base. A collection of screens set upon the walls -- a hapazard collection of process energon cubes next to an even more haphazard pile of raw energon -- even something that looked like an actual, proper berth surrounded by netting.

And all of it looked like it had been there for _years_.

_Unit E was working with another Cybertronian and never told us._

Without a word, the Autobots formed a protective circle around the humans, with Bulkhead picking Miko up to keep her from running out the hanger door, ignoring her protests of wanting to hit the surf.

_Cybertronian_ didn't necessarily translate to _friendly_. There was likely a reason General Bryce had neglected to inform them of any of this.

"Team Prime? Agent Fowler?" A human female addressed them coolly from near the hanger door. "Agent Faireborn. Welcome to the Bikini Atoll." She took two steps forward and came to a stop, hands clasped behind her back as she craned her neck to look up at them.

She did not, Ratchet noted, seem as awestruck as must humans (or Cybertronians, for that matter) were when confronted with the reality of Optimus Prime.

Agent Fowler slipped out of the protective confines of the Autobots' legs, closing the distance between himself and the other agent, extending a hand. His posture was stiff, and Ratchet would have bet his right hand that if Fowler had had armor, it would have been drawn tight around his protoform. "Agent. You've been briefed?"

That got an indelicate snort. "You?"

There was a hint of comradery in the tight smiles they exchanged, like both of them were imagining what they would like to do to their commanding officer, given the chance.

Ratchet was entertaining ideas of dangling the man over a cliff himself.

"Okay, couple of ground rules." Agent Faireborn raised her voice. "One. This is TC's home. If you don't think you can keep it civil, _leave_. Two. Watch your step, there's a dog on the premises. Anything happens to Buster, it won't be pretty. Three. Whatever history you have, leave it in the past. See rule one."

"Understood, Agent Faireborn," Optimus said, projecting reassurance. The human was clearly agitated, and the Prime was always the first to try and smooth the way. "We are honored to be allowed this visit, and wish to cause our host no discomfort."

There was movement by the hanger doors. A flash of blue and silver. A taloned servo, perhaps?

"So are we gonna _meet_ the guy," Miko asked with all her usual grace and tact, "or are we just gonna stand here all week?"

"That depends," said a voice from just outside. "You done putting the fear of Primus into them, Marissa?"

Agent Faireborn waved a hand. "Yeah, I'm done."

The hanger door slid aside, revealing the seeker that had been lurking behind.

Thundercracker's smirk was nearly a mirror of Starscream's. Well then. Me casa es su casa, as the humans say."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Dude, did we just find Starscream's not-evil twin?"

There was no mistaking the ominous hum of blasters powering up, but Thundercracker didn't even flinch. He strolled over to the still, jerking his thumb over his shoulder, wings held high. "Might wanna put those away," he drawled, turning a knob to stop the drip and giving the contents of the beaker a sniff.

Agent Fowler made a strangled noise. Faireborn had him by the tie, and there was a dog running around them both, yipping excitedly. "Get your people in line, Fowler!"

"Dude, did we just find Starscream's not-evil twin?" Miko asked, climbing up Bulkhead for a better look.

"Define ' _good_ '." Arcee never took her optics off Thundercracker, and only offlined her weapons when Optimus laid a servo on her arm and gently pushed it down.

"He's unarmed," Optimus pointed out softly. True, those talons could do a great deal of damage if the Seeker got within striking distance, but first he would have to _get_ there.

Slowly, reluctantly, the others followed Optimus's lead. Thundercracker pained more attention to the high grade in the beaker than the Autobots. "See, Marissa? I told you they could be reasoned with."

Faireborn grunted, releasing her stranglehold on Fowler's tie and scooping up the dog. Fowler coughed twice, straightening that much abused tie with a scowl.

"Is that _really_ Thundercracker?" Smokescreen whispered. "Isn't he supposed to be dead?"

"He was last seen during the siege of Helix." Ratchet muttered back. "His whole trine was believed lost, at least until Starscream..."

"Yeah," Thundercracker took a long pull from the beaker, "Screamer's always been one for the dramatic entrances. Coming back from the dead to blow up the Pious Pools? Just his style." He put the beaker down, ignoring Faireborn's snort. "Anyway, all in the past, right? Make yourselves at home, and hey, humans! You know what this calls for, Marissa?"

"A review of Unit E's hiring policy?"

Thundercracker crouched until he was almost laying on the floor, a graceful movement that brought his face level with Faireborn. "i was thinking luau."

"We don't have a pig. Or know how to cook anything like that." Faireborn ticked her points off on her fingers.

"We could _get_ a pig."

" _No_ , TC."

"But they're guests. I don't want to be a churlish host."

"'Churlish'?"

Thundercracker unfolded himself, pressing a servo to his chassis. "It's a good word."

Both of them were watching the Autobots while trying to appear to not be watching them, just as the Autobots watched them. Thundercracker was clearly doing his best to appear friendly and non-threatening; no easy feet for a thirty foot tall seeker. Even one who bore no weapons.

Cautiously, the Autobots began to spread out, though none of them relaxed very much.

 

The dog turned out to be the real ice breaker. There was something irresistible about floppy ears and a wagging tail and the way she instantly latched on to Raf as being the the human who gave the best pettings.

Thundercracker kept a careful distance as he sat on the floor, explaining that Buster was his dog (Marissa had gotten her for him) and yes, she absolutely was the _best_ dog (and Marissa wasn't too bad herself, once you got to know her).

Buster's total ease with Thundercracker was reassuring. A Unit E agent might tolerate a great deal for the sake of the mission, but a pet? Buster climbed into Thundercracker's servo the moment he laid it down, tail thumping against the well polished metal.

It also helped that he seemed perfectly happy to answer most of the questions Miko peppered him with. Only the ones about Starscream were deflected, redirected to other topics. He kept the younger humans well occupied until Faireborn herded the humans off to find a place for them to sleep. Then he retreated back to the still, returning to his home made high grade.

"Thundercracker-" Optimus began.

"No."

Optimus reset his optics and waited for the seeker to continue.

"I'm gonna tell you exactly what I told Marissa's bosses. I'm _done_. I'm not involved. You all can go right on blasting each other till the end of time, but my fight? Is over." Thundercracker leaned against the wall, raising the beaker in a mocking toast. "If that's a problem, you can leave."

Optimus inclined his helm. "Understood, Thundercracker." The way he said it made his message to the team clear. _Respect his boundries._

There would be time enough for answers later.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miko is humming the Jaws theme.

Miko was loudly singing the Jaws theme, watching Thundercracker swim through the clear blue water. Only his wings were visible above the surface, cutting through the lagoon with graceful ease. Occasionally, he raised his head to watch the humans on the beach, but otherwise seemed invested in doing his best shark impression.

Only Bumblebee had joined them on the beach. The rest of the tea was conferring with Ultra Magnus, catching him up on the situation.

Bumblebee was trying to help Raf make sandcastles. Unsurprisingly, he was proving about as good at it as Buster, who aided the endeavor by leaping on both Raf and Bee, knocking Raf's attempts at architecture flat.

After paddling about for a bit, Jack had returned to the beach to sit with his mother, Fowler, and Agent Faireborn.

Faireborn was slowly answering questions for Fowler, weighing her words carefully.

"Mostly, he watches TV. And he writes. _Don't_ ask him about it unless you really want to spend the rest of the week trying to muddle through a few thousand pages of nonsense." She ran a hand over her hair and twisted it into a knot at the base of her neck. "Bryce handed me a broken soldier, and I've been doing my best to fix him.... but I can't -- _won't_ \-- make him fight."

_Which is what Bryce wants from him_ hung unspoken in the air.

Thundercracker dove briefly, disappearing entirely from sight. He resurfaced with a triumphant shout, holding an enormous silver fish aloft. "Dinner's on me tonight!"

"Tuna steaks again?" There was fondness in Marissa's gentle mockery. "Why don't you ever pull a cow out of there?"

"Hey, I _offered_ to get you a pig." Thundercracker hauled himself on to the beach, still clinging to his struggling prey.

"You offered to have me cook up a Hawai'ian feast."

"Not seeing the difference here, Miss Mariss." Thundercracker stepped carefully, mindful of the way Miko was following him.

"How do you swim like that? Could you swim all the way to California? Did you see any sharks down there? Ever wrestle a giant squid?"

Thundercracker studied the tuna in his claws. "I'm lighter than I look." He raised a single digit and drove it into the tuna's flesh with careful precision. "Any other mech my size would just sink... unless they were a boat or something." He paused thoughtfully. "I could probably make it to Australia, but why swim when I can fly?" He gave the now still tuna a little shake, satisfied with the job he'd done. "We _do_ have sharks. No giant squid, though."

* * *

 

"Sitrep?"

"All quiet, General. Asbestos removal proceeding at pace. The Autobots who remained behind have been very... helpful, in that regard."

"Getting at all those hard to reach places, eh?"

"Something like that, sir. Their leader made contact with the others about Faireborn's project. Contact between the groups seem to have been made without incident."

"Good, good. No other incidents?"

"No sir."

"Very well. Carry on."

 

 

"Sir?"

 

"Bryce has been placated.  Operation will continue as planned.  Ready the containment units and transport."


End file.
